What you need to know
- Dell's CEO and founder predicts that the current semiconductor shortage will probably continue for a few years.
- People from other major tech companies have echoed similar sentiments.
- Dell has a reported order volume of $70 billion worth of semiconductors each year.
"The shortage will probably continue for a few years," said Dell. "Even if chip factories are built all over the world it takes time."
The current semiconductor shortage affects a wide range of industries, including the computing and automotive industries. Dell has a high demand for older and cheaper semiconductors, which are hard to obtain at the moment.
Dell explained, "We are talking, in particular, about components that are in the one-dollar range and are used practically everywhere. But even newer technologies are not easy to come by."
Dell isn't the only one who thinks the chip shortage will persist. NVIDIA CFO Colette Kress said that the company expects "demand to continue to exceed supply for much of this year." TSMC warned that the shortage could last even longer into 2022.
Several tech giants and the U.S. government are taking steps to combat the global shortage, though any efforts will take some time to bear fruit. Earlier today, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and several other large tech companies announced the formation of the Semiconductors in America Coalition, which aims to secure funding for domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.
